1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a private branch exchange and a private branch exchange system that permit a suitable response to a call from an outside line or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when a private branch exchange is used while being connected with an automatic responder such as a voice mail apparatus, a line interface of the automatic responder is connected to an extension line circuit of the private branch exchange so that when a call terminates or arrives at the outside line circuit of the private branch exchange, a terminating signal (incoming signal or calling signal) may be transmitted to an inside line circuit of the private branch exchange assigns as a destination. In other words, in the conventional automatic responder, the terminating signal from the extension line circuit of the private branch exchange is received by the line interface and is responded automatically by using a response message assigned in advance to the line interface.
For example, in order for a sales department, an engineering department and a management department to respond by using separate response messages, methods as below have been available.
Firstly, according to a first method, calls from calling party are all responded with the same response menu and an originator (calling party) selects a desired response menu manually. For example, the call is responded with one response menu purporting xe2x80x9cThis is XYZ firm. A customer who wants to connect to a sales department is requested to dial No. 1, a customer who wants to connect to an engineering department is requested to dial No. 2 and a customer who wants to connect to a management department is requested to dial No. 3.xe2x80x9d and an originator operates a desired dial number or push button to select the next response menu.
Since the conventional automatic responder responds to all calls with the same response menu to urge the originator to subsequently select a desired response menu manually, the first method as above cannot be a user-friendly terminating process method.
According to a second method, the extension line circuit, for a call terminating at an outside line circuit of a private branch exchange is destined, is sorted in accordance with a sales department, an engineering department and a management department to make the call terminate or arrive at a separate line interface of an automatic responder.
Since, in the second method, calls are caused to terminate or arrive at separate specified line interfaces of the automatic responder in accordance with terminating information to make the individual specified line interfaces transmit response messages, the specified line interfaces must be provided for individual kinds of terminating information, with the result that the number of extension line circuits and line interfaces of the private branch exchange is increased to raise costs of the private branch exchange and automatic responder.
An object of the present invention is to provide a user-friendly private branch exchange that does not urge a calling party to perform complicated operations.
An apparatus of the invention comprising: outside line circuits connectable to a plurality of outside lines; extension line circuits connectable with the unit for storage of response messages and extension telephones; a first memory for storing, when an incoming call is received at the outside line circuit, terminating information of the incoming call; a second memory for storing the terminating information and an additional parameter in a state where the information and the parameter are related to each other; signal generating means for generating DTMF signals on the basis of the additional parameter corresponding to the terminating information stored in the first memory; and transmitting means for transmitting the DTMF signals to the unit for storage of voice messages.